Lauren Matsumoto

Lauren Cheape Matsumoto
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives
from the 45th district
Assumed office
January 16, 2013
Personal details
Born Lauren Cheape
(1987-08-16) August 16, 1987
Mililani, Hawaii
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Scott Matsumoto
Children Noah
Alma mater University of Hawaii
Profession Politician, beauty pageant titleholder, Professional Hula Dancer
Website www.RepMatsumoto.com

Lauren Cheape Matsumoto (born August 16, 1987) is an American politician and beauty pageant titleholder, who is a member of the Hawaii State House representing Hawaii's 45th District. Matsumoto represents Schofield, Mokuleia, Waialua, Kunia, Waipio Acres, and her hometown of Mililani in the Hawaii State House of Representatives. She holds the title of Miss Hawaii 2011, and competed in the Miss America 2012 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1] She was born and raised in Mililani, Hawaii.

Personal life

Matsumoto traces her roots in Hawai‘i back to 1859. She is the sixth generation to be born and raised in the islands. Her great-grandfather founded Peterson’s Upland Farm in 1910. Her grandfather began working at Waialua Sugar Company in 1966, where he worked until he retired. Matsumoto’s grandmother Suzanne Peterson was the first woman to serve on the State of Hawai'i Board of Agriculture and later became the Director of Agriculture under Governor Waihee.

Matsumoto’s father, Michael, has worked at Nanakuli High School as a Special Education Teacher for over 20 years. Her mother Sharon works on the family farm, promotes local agriculture in the islands, and has served as the Vice-President of the Hawai‘i Egg Producers Association. Her brother Matthew attended University of Hawai‘i (UH) and played professional volleyball in Greece before returning home, where he is now a lifeguard. Lauren was born and raised in Mililani, where she attended Mililani Waena Elementary, was the first class to attend Mililani Middle School, and graduated from Mililani High School. She participated in many activities, including the Hawaiian Island Skippers jump rope team, Mililani High School Volleyball, Swimming, Water Polo, and the Symphonic Ensemble.

Matsumoto graduated from University of Hawai'i Academy for Creative Media with a B.A. in film production and minored in both Business and Japanese. Her first experience with the legislature was with her documentary, Farm Grown, which helped pass the Feed Subsidy Bill. Matsumoto was a four-year Division I scholar-athlete at the University of Hawai‘i as a Wahine Water Polo player. She was also a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and initiated the C.A.R.E. (Collegiate Athletes Reaching Everyone) program, which uses student-athletes to encourage youth to excel in academics and participate in athletics. Matsumoto earned an MBA from Hawaii Pacific University in May 2015. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Development.

In July 2013, Matsumoto married Scott Matsumoto, who is a firefighter for the Honolulu Fire Department. The pair had met at their church, One Love, where they are active members. In August 2017, they were blessed with the birth of their first child, Noah Matsumoto. Lauren also enjoys spending time with her family and pursuing lifelong hobbies, including sharing her love of dance as a professional hula dancer in Waikiki.

Political career

Matsumoto ran a successful campaign for election in 2012 to the newly formed District 45 of the Hawaii State House on Oahu, Hawaii. District 45 comprises Matsumoto's hometown of Mililani as well as Schofield, Wheeler, Mokuleia, and Waialua. She ran unopposed in the primaries as a Republican candidate.

Key values on which she campaigned included expanding local agriculture, strengthening education, improving the local economy, and advocating for responsible environmental policies.

Miss Hawaii

Matsumoto competed at Miss Hawaii 2011 as Miss East Oahu. Her talent was a Jump Rope routine, which she took up after seeing a jump rope team perform at her school.[2] Her platform is C.A.R.E.: Collegiate Athletes Reaching Everyone.[3] She won on her fourth try for the Miss Hawaii title. She represented Hawaii at the National Sweetheart 2010 Pageant, a spot she earned by placing 2nd runner-up to Miss Hawaii 2010.[4] She was named a Quality of Life Finalist and won the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Award for most money raised in the country, which benefitted Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, at the Miss America 2012 pageant.[5]

Community Service & Awards

Representative Matsumoto is an active member of the Council of State Government (CSG) and was selected to attend their Western Legislative Academy program in 2014. She was then named a Toll Fellow in 2015, participating in CSG’s selective leadership development program for state officials. In 2015 she was also chosen to be a part of Governing Institute inaugural class of women in government. In addition, she was elected as the Western Regional Board director on the Women In Government National Board, having previously served as the Hawaii State Director. Lauren also serves as a founding member of the Echelon Board of the Salvation Army - Hawaiian and Pacific Islands.

References

  1. ↑ "Lauren Cheape crowned Miss Hawaii". KHON 2. June 4, 2011. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Miss Hawaii contestant profile: Lauren Cheape, Miss East Oahu". KHON 2. May 29, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Miss East Oahu Page of Miss Hawaii 2011 Program Book". Miss Hawaii Organization.
  4. ↑ "National Sweetheart". Pageantopolis. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ "2012 Miss America photos: IHOP breakfast, Quality of Life finalists". Las Vegas Sun. January 6, 2012.
Preceded by
Jalee Fuselier		 Miss Hawaii
2011		 Succeeded by
Skyler Kamaka
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